Step in the wayback machine with me to 2006 to 2009. Why this time period? During those years, a tradition of Atlanta filmmakers treking to Rome, Georgia for the Rome International Film Festival was in full force.

A few of us would get hotel rooms, some for the weekend, some for just a night, and we'd enjoy a great selection of films, the beautiful scenery and hospitality Rome style. The ability to walk Broad Street to access all the venues and restaurants added to the appeal. In the years I attended RIFF, and stayed the entire fest, I had to move my car once. And that was so I could get batteries for my camera. My car never moved till I was heading home.

By 2009, that rite of fall was no more. Which was a little sad. RIFF is one of the first festivals CinemATL organized a meetup at. It's at RIFF I met Mary Badham, who played Scout inTo Kill a Mockingbird. I spent hours talking to her. That was a coup for RIFF, because Badham doesn't do many events. And for a lot of filmmakers, it was through RIFF we made some long lasting friendships. That's how I met CinemATL contributor Tracy Page in person.

RIFF"s new logo updates the fests look, while paying homage to one of Rome's most iconic landmarks, the City Clock Tower

This year's lineup, the updated logo, combined with some of the discussions I've had with organizers (specifically Cameron McCallister of Reel Georgia and a CinemATL friend and partner), leads me to think that a new generation of Atlanta filmmakers will be hanging in North Georgia soon.

Below is the lineup for this year. I encourage anyone, filmmaker or casual movie fan, who wants to enjoy a nice daytrip, to consider visiting RIFF for a few hours. Be sure to walk the Heritage Park Trail that runs along side the Oostanaula River. I'll be carving what time I can, so look for me there.

The Forgotten Kingdom

ROME INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL RELEASES FULL 2014 LINEUP

September festival to screen 61 feature-length and short films from all over the world

ROME, GEORGIA — Earlier this month, the Rome International Film Festival (RIFF) announced No Ordinary Hero: The SuperDeafy Move and B.F.E. as the opening and closing night films, respectively, of its 11th annual festival. Now, RIFF is pleased to announce the complete lineup of its four-day September event.

“Just as in the past, we are really living up to the ‘International’ in our name this year,” said Festival Director Kimberly Klabel. Though dozens of the festival’s official selections are American—many of which have played at other prestigious Southeastern festivals like the Atlanta Film Festival, the Sarasota Film Festival and the Sidewalk Film Festival in Birmingham, Alabama—films from Australia, Austria, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Lebanon, Lesotho, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom are all included in the 61-film lineup.

Four selections have been highlighted as Spotlight Films. On Friday, September 5th, “Fight Church” will screen. Directed by Bryan Storkel and Daniel Junge, the documentary explores the strange but growing Christian MMA scene. Later that night, New Orleans-shot comedy “Father-Like Son,” directed by Mac Alsfield, will be featured. On Saturday, September 6th, “Limo Ride,” from Atlanta-based filmmakers Gideon C. Kennedy and Marcus Rosentrater, will pull into the DeSoto. Set and shot in Alabama, the film is a hilarious and experimental blend of documentary and feature-length reenactment. On Sunday, September 7th, Andrew Mudge’s “The Forgotten Kingdom” will screen. The South African and Lesothoan coproduction recently won three African Oscars. Producer TR Boyce Jr. will be in attendance for the festival. These films are listed along with the complete lineup below.

For over a decade, RIFF has showcased an incredible diversity in independent filmmaking from nearly every part of the earth. Workshops and the returning annual Makeup Competition will be announced soon. The 11th annual RomeInternational Film Festival runs from September 4-7, 2014 at the DeSoto Theatre on Rome’s famed Broad Street. Tickets and passes will be available at the box office during the festival and are available for purchase online now at romeinternationalfilmfestival.corg

SuperDeafy must reveal the man behind the cape to find true love and inspire a young deaf boy to believe in himself. A beloved character and role model, SuperDeafy has a worldwide following. He has been immortalized on t-shirts, posters and dolls—and now a movie. NO ORDINARY HERO marks the first time in cinematic history that a SAG commercial feature film was made exclusively by deaf executive producers and a deaf director. The film will be 100% open captioned every screening. Oscar-winning actress Marlee Matlin headlines. Producers Doug Matejka, Taly Ravid, and Liz Tennebaum as well as actor John Maucere will be in attendance.

Exploring the confluence of Christianity and Mixed Martial Arts, FIGHT CHURCH follows several pastors and fighters in a quest to reconcile their faith with a sport that some consider violent and barbaric. Faith is tried and questions are raised. Can you really love your neighbor as yourself and then punch him in the face?

With the unexpected death of Clark’s dad, his mother, Helen, quickly remarries a man of the same age as her son. Dan, a 24-year-old “inventor,” becomes increasingly hell-bent on raising the boy as his own. Pressured by his parents to find a job, Clark sets out on a gauntlet of misleading and dangerous interviews, finally landing a job at a local bookstore. It is here that he meets Emily, a beautiful and quick-witted girl who helps Clark to tread against the waters of his own pessimistic views on love and marriage in order to reconcile his relationship with his mother and ensure the future well being of his family. Director and lead actor Mac Alsfield will be in attendance.

When a group of friends hired a limousine to take them to the beach for their annual New Years rite of passage, the last thing they expected was to find themselves kidnapped, stripped, stranded and left for dead on a dirt road 24 hours later, fighting to survive. A true tale told by those who lived it, these ten Southern raconteurs are as practiced in spinning great yarns as they are in hard living. By combining the narration of the actual participants with feature-length re-enactment, "Limo Ride" transforms the greatest bar story ever told into a wild, experimental docu-comedy. Director Marcus Rosentrater will be in attendance.

Atang leaves the slums of the big city to bury his estranged father in the remote, mountainous village where he was born. Befriended by an orphan herd-boy and stirred by memories of his youth, he falls in love with his childhood friend, Dineo, now a radiant young teacher. Through her, Atang is drawn to the mystical beauty and hardships of the people, and faces his own bittersweet reckoning. Producer TR Boyce Jr. will be in attendance.

Boredom and bad decisions are a part of life in far-off places like BFE. Young and old struggle to live free or die trying. Grampa has a terminal illness but won’t go down without a fight. His grandson, Ian, tries to teach the old man how to live, while simultaneously trying to catch the eye of the troubled and angelic Ellie—whose feelings for Ian may be more than mutual. The problem is, Ellie’s popular boyfriend, Zack—like everyone else in this isolated town on the edge of nowhere—doesn’t want to be the last virgin. Director Shawn Telford will be in attendance.

Charlie Clark is a struggling artist who seeks a connection between her artwork and her deceased father’s music. Out of her element in Memphis, Charlie meets Louie Traxler, a record store owner and an obsessive collector who sees a chance to do what he does best. The two of them scour the South in search of an elusive copy of her father’s only 45RPM record. Director Juli Jackson will be in attendance.

Sean, a retired literature professor and civic activist, writes a letter to his estranged son, Tennessee, a ranch hand. Tennessee is uncertain how to respond, but knowing he should see his aging father, he decides to go home. Tennessee arrives just as Nina, Sean’s personal trainer fresh off a bad breakup, accepts Sean’s offer to move in and help him write his memoirs. The tension between Sean and Tennessee is ever-present. As Sean and Nina work, Tennessee avoids his overbearing father with fix-up projects around the house. One evening after Nina has gone out, Sean and Tennessee find themselves alone in the house for the first time.

Kim Getty is an immigrant from 400 years in the future, sent back in time to live out an easier life. It’s a one-way trip of difficult isolation, but in the three years since she landed, Kim has built a life that feels almost satisfying. She has a full time job, shares an apartment with a roommate, and is falling in love. But when she stumbles on a teenage girl who is also from the future, Kim’s remade sense of self is tested. After the girl leads Kim to her long-lost husband, now 20 years older than her and maladjusted to this time, Kim’s carefully designed identity begins to unravel. Director Alexis Boling and Producer Bodine Boling will be in attendance.

Documenting the mysterious life of William Anderson Smith (a.k.a. “Bell Tree” Smith), BLIND TIGER is set at the turn of the century in Bluffton, Alabama, then one of the most prosperous towns in the Southeast. A self-made millionaire, Bell Tree fought hard against Prohibition, all while living by his own rules and making a financial killing deep in the backwoods of Smith Hollow, where his “blind tiger speakeasy” wetted the appetites of both high-browed politicians and dusty old miners near the once-booming iron ore town. Director Seth Ingram will be in attendance.

Prolific American songwriter, producer, family man and Rome-native Butch Walker may be unknown to the millions of fans of such artists as Fall Out Boy, Taylor Swift, Train and Pink—for example—with whom he has produced hit records for. To industry insiders, he is considered as ‘the musicians’ musician.’ To the adoring fans of the prodigious records created under his own name, Butch Walker is an underground god. A hidden gem and uncompromising servant to his craft, Butch's rock-and-roll fairy tale comes into focus as directors Peter Harding and Shane Valdés capture key notes in the lyrical life of one of today's most acclaimed and respected singer-songwriters. With a non-invasive lens, the directors capture candid footage of the man behind the music—and the glimpses are nothing short of inspiring—from a fly on the wall of his studio sessions, to the streets and clubs of fan-crazed crowds, to the ‘trampoline’ wisdom of his pre-school son. When you meet Atlanta's favorite rock-son's ailing father ’Big Butch,’ it is clear where this man found his moral rock.

BY AND BY: NEW ORLEANS GOSPEL AT THE CROSSROADSDirected by Joe Compton, USA, 96 minutesSunday, September 7 — 1:00 PM

Set against a backdrop of post-Katrina New Orleans, BY AND BY is a classic family story of change vs. tradition, young vs. old, focused on a son's unavoidable conflict: to continue the 46 year musical legacy of his father, or to strike out on his own. At the center of the film is the Electrifying Crown Seekers, a powerful New Orleans gospel quartet that USA Today called “more explosive than any rock headliner.”

NEXT YEAR JERUSALEMDirected by David Gaynes, USA/Israel, 72 minutesSunday, September 7 — 3:00 PM

Choosing life in life’s final chapter is the poignant subtext of NEXT YEAR JERUSALEM, a lyrical portrait of eight nursing home residents who travel to Israel on a tour. Earnest and nuanced, the film is a poetic exploration of living and dying, hope and fear, travel and memory. It is a celebration of human experience and a reverent tribute to life's eldest travelers.

Who goes to war and who returns? TERRA FIRMA weaves together the stories of three female veterans who served in Afghanistan, Kuwait and Iraq in the early days of Bush's War on Terror. After struggling for years with combat related PTSD they have all found ways to heal the hidden wounds of war through farming. RIFF award-winning Directors Christine Anthony and Owen Masterson will be in attendance.

It's a conflict once unthinkable in the deep green South. Three states are locked in battle over the diminishing fresh water that saw Atlanta go from a small town to the fastest-growing city in the US. Who’s in control? It depends on who you talk to.

In this stunningly-shot, award-winning documentary, brothers Michael and David Hanson return to the source of their childhood river and paddle it to the Gulf of Mexico to take you deep into the Water Wars. Everything comes down to one question.

Where will you be when the Zombie Apocalypse begins? Hopefully not stuck in a cheesy Haunted House wishing you could find a better weapon than a plastic machete. Four friends rely on their wits and the help of costumed Haunted House employees to survive the night. Director Jonathan Rej and crew will be in attendance.

Juliet, a beautiful but straight-laced psychologist, is forced to return to her small hometown after her girlfriend, a carefree artist named Lydia, discovers a wedding invitation. As soon as they arrive in Port Fairy, Lydia realizes Juliet is deflecting questions of her past and keeping Lydia at arms-length.

A 35-year-old man is returning to his village home. It’s night and a fellow passenger talks about recent ghost happenings. Now panicked, he continues down the road until he faces a very strange being. Who is he? Is he living or...?

Everyone has secrets. Renata and Phillip know their marriage is dissolving under the weight of perfection: the perfect house, the perfect job, the perfect life, and now the perfect cozy dinner with friends. Renata knows they can make it right, fix things somehow. But she doesn't count on how fast their glass walls can shatter, how fast the secrets can come spilling out.

Free Art Friday ATL is an ongoing city-wide social art scavenger hunt. Art pieces are hidden around the city and photos are posted on social media using #FAFATL. If you are first to find the art, you get to keep it and take it home with you absolutely free. Director Nicole Powell will be in attendance.

A farmer wakes up early to go get the last garbanzos in the universe. On his way back, he is faced with several obstacles that he needs to overcome in order for him to bring the garbanzos to his little daughter. The story is inspired by the conflict of interests between different parties over the revolution in Syria.

A young man wakes up in the dark kitchen of a restaurant. He is wounded; he has been beaten up and tied to a chair. Moreover, his arms are tied up and sunk into a bucket of ice and blood. He does not remember what happened to him so his two torturers—a woman and a man, both Asian—help him reconstruct the events.

Mitch and Izzy are the last unmarried couple in a group of friends and so out of spite and with the help of a little booze, they decide to take the plunge.

INTERVENTION

Directed by Francesca Murdoch, USA, 17 minutes

Saturday, September 6 — 3:00 PM (Narrative Shorts)

Sarah Hale may be the only person who truly cares about her classmate, James Winters. When his family problems become unbearable, will Sarah's love be enough to save James? Director Francesca Murdoch will be in attendance.

Old Jebediah just wants to sit down and watch some TV. But does it have to be so hard? Well, if your idea of DIY repair involves administering vicious blunt force trauma with whatever object you can find, then yes, it can.

Amer is a 7-year-old dreamy boy captivated by the colors of his imagination. He lives in a rough Beirut neighborhood where he sees his father struggling to make ends meet. One night, Amer sneaks out and follows his father to what he thinks is going to be a magical father-son adventure, only to find himself overcome by the streets of reality.

Randall spends his days imagining the vibrant inner lives of various vendors at the multicultural urban market where he works; none more so than Angela, an angel with her own pastry shop. But Randall's inattention to his work has lead to a string of thefts and soon threatens to cost him his job.

New Year's Eve, 2010, midnight; amidst the revelry, thousands of blackbirds fall from the sky. Not far away, 100,000 drum fish wash up dead on the banks of the Arkansas River. Hazmat crews comb the region collecting the birds and community members worry and wonder what happened. Is it the end times, a military experiment, natural gas fracking, or fireworks? Director Brian Campbell will be in attendance.

ONE ARMED MAN

Directed by Tim Guinee, USA, 27 minutes

Friday, September 5 — 11:00 PM (Friday Midnight Shorts)

A wealthy cotton gin executive is confronted by a disgruntled former employee demanding the return of an arm lost in the gin's machinery, in Oscar-winning writer Horton Foote's chilling drama, ONE ARMED MAN.

Sonia Van Meter and Matthew Gilliland are two hopefuls in a one-way mission to Mars. In this moving short documentary, each share their motivations in choosing to leave earth behind forever.

OPERATION BARN OWL

Directed by Satsuki Okawa, USA, 14 minutes

Friday, September 5 — 9:00 PM (with FATHER-LIKE SON)

Ellen's best friend Jonah wants to create a unique and picturesque proposal to his girlfriend. Banding together with a group of friends, Ellen works diligently to ensure that the meticulously planned show of affection goes off without a hitch, but issues arise along the way. Ellen must overcome her feelings for Jonah and any past promises they made to each other for the proposal to go as planned.

THE PACKINGHOUSE is a short documentary about ghost tales that surround an old, eerie, and abandoned meat packing facility in Statesboro, Georgia. Director Brian Graves will be in attendance.

PIE LADY OF PIE TOWNDirected by Jane Rosemont, USA, 33 minutes

Saturday, September 6 — 5:00 PM (with BLIND TIGER)

Why did Kathy Knapp, a Dallas businesswoman, leave her charmed life to bake pie in a dusty town with no traffic light, no gas station and sketchy utilities? Pie Town came upon its name honestly in the 1920s when a cattle rancher sold pie to supplement his income. Welcome to Pie Town, New Mexico. The name is no joke.

This is the story of Nick as he searches for his lost dog, Catullo. Nick lives in a world where men hold a lid and women hold a pot. When they find the perfect match, the lid will fit the pot. During his journey, Nick will find his love.

A young Forest Scout tries his best to get his very first badge, the “Animal Assistance Badge,” by helping an innocent turtle cross the street without breaking the handbook rules. Director Marissa Bernstel will be in attendance.

Founded in 2003, the Rome International Film Festival (RIFF) is northwest Georgia’ssignature film festival event. Named as one of MovieMaker Magazine’s “top 20 festivals worth the submission fee,” RIFF is proud to have shared independent films from dozens of countries across the globe with thousands of film fans and filmmakers from near and far over the last 11 years. Rome’s historic DeSoto Theatre serves as the central venue for the festival. Built in 1927, the DeSoto was the first cinema in the Southeastern United States to screen sound films. In addition to showcasing dozens of feature length and short films every year, RIFF also programs industry workshops and an annual make-up artist competition.